The Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus)

[epaiva]

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Giant deer or Irish giant deer, is an extinct species of deer in the genus Megaloceros and is one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its range extended across Eurasia during the Pleistocene, from Ireland to Siberia to China. A related form is recorded in China during the Late Pleistocene.The most recent remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 7,700 years ago in Siberia. Although most skeletons have been found in bogs in Ireland, the animal was not exclusive to Ireland.
The Irish giant deer stood about 2.1 metres (6.9 ft) tall at the shoulders carrying the largest antlers of any known cervid (a maximum of 3.65 m (12.0 ft) from tip to tip and weighing up to 40 kg (88 lb)). In body size, the Irish Elk tied in size with the extant moose subspecies of Alaska (Alces alces gigas). The Irish elk is estimated to have attained a total mass of 540–600 kg (1,190–1,323 lb), with large specimens having weighed 700 kg (1,543 lb) or more, roughly similar to the Alaskan Moose. Credits American Museum of natural History. Reply